Redskins Nation is a half-hour show devoted to giving fans unfiltered access to the day's events at Redskins Park. Hosted by Larry Michael, the show features Redskins players, coaches and sit-down interviews with team officials. (Show re-airs at 11:30 p.m/7:30 a.m. daily)

Redskins Nation is a half-hour show devoted to giving fans unfiltered access to the day's events at Redskins Park. Hosted by Larry Michael, the show features Redskins players, coaches and sit-down interviews with team officials. (Show re-airs at 11:30 p.m/7:30 a.m. daily)

Redskins Nation is a half-hour show devoted to giving fans unfiltered access to the day's events at Redskins Park. Hosted by Larry Michael, the show features Redskins players, coaches and sit-down interviews with team officials. (Show re-airs at 11:30 p.m/7:30 a.m. daily)

Redskins Nation is a half-hour show devoted to giving fans unfiltered access to the day's events at Redskins Park. Hosted by Larry Michael, the show features Redskins players, coaches and sit-down interviews with team officials. (Show re-airs at 11:30 p.m/7:30 a.m. daily)

Redskins Nation is a half-hour show devoted to giving fans unfiltered access to the day's events at Redskins Park. Hosted by Larry Michael, the show features Redskins players, coaches and sit-down interviews with team officials. (Show re-airs at 11:30 p.m/7:30 a.m. daily)

Redskins Nation is a half-hour show devoted to giving fans unfiltered access to the day's events at Redskins Park. Hosted by Larry Michael, the show features Redskins players, coaches and sit-down interviews with team officials. (Show re-airs at 11:30 p.m/7:30 a.m. daily)

Redskins Nation is a half-hour show devoted to giving fans unfiltered access to the day's events at Redskins Park. Hosted by Larry Michael, the show features Redskins players, coaches and sit-down interviews with team officials. (Show re-airs at 11:30 p.m/7:30 a.m. daily)

Redskins Nation is a half-hour show devoted to giving fans unfiltered access to the day's events at Redskins Park. Hosted by Larry Michael, the show features Redskins players, coaches and sit-down interviews with team officials. (Show re-airs at 11:30 p.m/7:30 a.m. daily)

Redskins Nation is a half-hour show devoted to giving fans unfiltered access to the day's events at Redskins Park. Hosted by Larry Michael, the show features Redskins players, coaches and sit-down interviews with team officials. (Show re-airs at 11:30 p.m/7:30 a.m. daily)

Redskins Nation is a half-hour show devoted to giving fans unfiltered access to the day's events at Redskins Park. Hosted by Larry Michael, the show features Redskins players, coaches and sit-down interviews with team officials. (Show re-airs at 11:30 p.m/7:30 a.m. daily)

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Yesterday, Carlos Rogers discussed his difficulties catching the ball at great length. Then the commenters discussed his discussion at reasonable length. So when two of Rogers’ coaches offer their thoughts on the subject, I think they’re worth noting.

First, defensive coordinator Jim Haslett:

“He’s done a great job, he really has, of covering guys. Especially in the nickel, in the slot, he’s done an excellent job. He’s hard to throw over. The issue’s gonna be [that] he should have probably five to six interceptions right now. And he makes ’em out here; he’s just gonna have to concentrate a little bit more in the game. They come and all of a sudden he turns his head around and the ball’s there. He gets his hands on ’em.

“The other day, the one, he dropped it when he hit the ground, so I can understand it and he actually caught the ball. But he’s working at it and he’s doing a good job. They throw balls to him every day and it’s just something he’s gonna have to fight through.

“I think more of it’s just a mental thing than anything else, ’cause he can do it.”

Haslett also discussed Rogers’ practice regiment — “We do it every day. We throw balls to him every day, we throw the high point, the low ones….” — and what would be if Rogers had managed to haul in those picks. “He should have a minimum of five turnovers himself. Hopefully he can put that away in the second half of the season or these next ten games and help us get a few, because that’s what’s gonna help us win games.”

Next, head coach Mike Shanahan:

“He’s been doing it in practice, so those will come, because he has been much more consistent in practice over the last three, four weeks than he was when we first got here. Doing a lot of ball drills, he works on it. They say they come in bunches, and hopefully they will.

“To kinda give you an idea: with Clinton Portis, when Clinton first came to Denver … I mean, Clinton, you could tell, had not caught the ball very much in his career. And I kinda gave him a hard time when he first got on the field. And he said, “Coach,” he said, “It won’t be long and I’ll be catching the ball extremely well.” And he worked at it and he got very good at it. And that’s what Carlos needs to do, as we’ve talked to him: just keep on catching the ball. You do that, you’ll get a lot more confidence, you’ll come down with those catches.

“And he has worked on it. Hasn’t come down with the catches, but he has in practice very consistently. He got a few this week, so hopefully it’ll pay dividends.”

An interesting side note here is that neither of Rogers’ drops from this past Sunday was a flat-out clean drop. On the first, as Haslett noted, he made the catch and lost the ball when he hit the ground (no matter what the replay review said). And on the second, as Rogers himself noted yesterday, Colts tight end Dallas Clark had a hand in breaking up the catch. So maybe Rogers really is quietly improving and is ready to stun us all with a multi-pick game. Maybe. I mean, I’ll believe it when I see it, but at least there’s a bit of hope.

Other links of note from today:

Shanahan noted that, barring setbacks, Chris Cooley, Albert Haynesworth, and Rocky McIntosh should all be ready to play on Sunday.

The NFL made their new Player Safety video — the one detailing what is and isn’t a legal hit — available for the public to see. Check it out here. No Redskins on either the hitting or receiving end of any examples, for whatever that’s worth.

The Word Of Muth column at Football Outsiders always offers an interesting breakdown of Redskins offensive line play, and this week’s is no exception. Great, informative explanation of the Zone Stretch runs the team was using.

Want a ticket to an upcoming Redskins game? Donate blood at selected Red Cross donation sites. See the details here.